The Supreme Court clarified on Tuesday that High Courts are free to proceed with petitions challenging amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, and Justice KV Viswanathan stated that the Supreme Court should not act as the court of first instance, except in exceptional cases. 

The clarification came while hearing a group of petitions challenging the provisions of the UAPA.

"A lot of problems arise. Sometimes issues are left by your side and sometimes by the other side; then we have to refer to larger bench and it becomes an issue. We will have it before the High Court," CJI Khanna observed.

The Court issued an order stating that High Courts are free to proceed with the petitions that are pending before them, clarifying that they can continue their hearings on the matter.

A set of petitions challenging provisions of the UAPA have been pending before the Supreme Court since 2019. Among the petitioners are Sajal Awasthi, an individual, and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights.

The NGO has contested the validity of Sections 35 and 36 of the UAPA, as amended by the UAPA Amendment Act of 2019. These provisions empower the government to designate any individual as a terrorist. The NGO argues that such labeling would lead to a permanent stigma and violate fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India.